Dwayne Bravo Named West Indies Captain For Champions Trophy

West Indies have become the latest team to announce their final squad for the ICC Champions Trophy. The big news is that Dwayne Bravo has replaced Darren Sammy as captain.

Chairman of selectors Clyde Butts explained the decision, saying, “Our results in Tests and T20s have been showing consistent improvement and Sammy deserves every kudos for the work he has done in leading and moulding the team in these formats. We remain confident in his leadership in these formats and will recommend that he continues as the captain for Test and T20 cricket. However our ODI results have not been as strong and we believe that it is best that we freshen the leadership of the team in this format.

“Dwayne Bravo is an experienced, seasoned and senior cricketer who has demonstrated leadership qualities. He has served as West Indies vice captain and has had some success when he has led the West Indies team on occasion. We believe that his transition to the position of captaincy will be a smooth one. The Selection Panel therefore recommended to the Board of Directors that Bravo be appointed captain and we are pleased that the Board has approved the recommendation.

“We have every confidence in Bravo as the leader of the ODI team and while his first assignment - the Champions Trophy - will be a challenging one we believe he will receive the full support of the players and the team management for a successful campaign. The decision will also allow Sammy to focus on the Test and T20 formats as captain while he will remain in consideration for one-day cricket as an all-rounder,”

Bravo leads a squad that is not vastly different from that which has represented the islands in recent times. The only absentee is Kieran Powell due to a finger injury.

Of the squad selected, Butts added, “We have some of the most accomplished cricketers in the world along with some young talent who have shown tremendous promise and quality and we believe that the team will gel well, play as a unit and do the Caribbean proud. We have shown confidence in the players who have served well in both the batting and bowling departments and have identified some young players such as Jason Holder and Johnson Charles who add quality to the squad.”